The market for lingerie and swimwear has developed and increased significantly over the last fifty years with an increasing variety of styles, colours and fabrics now being available. Where previously these garments were worn to cover and support the breasts, the market has developed such that bras and bikini tops are now worn as fashionable as well as functional garments.
In particular the industry has begun to tailor their garments to the clothing with which the bra or bikini top is to be worn. For example it is now common to find bras in a nude fabric such that they do not show underneath clothes made of sheer or semi-transparent material. As another example, strapless bras that do not show under a strapless dress are also in popular demand.
Multiway bras having removable straps that can be worn in a variety of ways are also now generally available. These offer the consumer a single item of clothing for multiple purposes. For example a multiway bra may be worn without the straps with strapless dresses, with only a single strap with clothing with one shoulder strap and with the straps crossing over at the back with racer back tops to name but a few examples.
The market has also seen an increase in the style of cups which support the breast. Plunge bras, t-shirt bras and balconette bras are all offered to co-ordinate with the particular clothing being worn. Stick on bras which include an adhesive or “sticky” portion which adheres to the body are also now regularly included as part of a lingerie brand's offering to be worn with low backed or lace backed dresses for example.
However whilst the industry has developed new designs to keep up with the progress of fashion, most of these different styles are only available in smaller cup sizes for example up to D or E cup. The number of styles available to consumers of size E cup or greater is limited when compared to those available in smaller sizes. This is somewhat of a mismatch since those with a larger bust are more likely to need the support provided by a bra.
Additionally most styles of bra (except the variable strap style discussed above) are unable to be used with a variety of different clothing styles. For example a strapless bra often has a wide band between the breasts and thus is not suitable to be worn with a plunging neckline. Indeed it has even been known for a bra which may be worn successfully with one particular type of plunge neckline for example a cowl neck to be unsuitable for wearing with another type of plunge neckline for example a v-neck or halterneck. Thus it can be the case that each time a new top or dress is bought, a new bra must be bought as well thereby resulting in considerable expense to the consumer.
The present disclosure aims to mitigate these and other issues associated with current bras and bikini tops and additionally provides other technical and commercially advantageous features.